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Copyright, ii 



By C. K. LORD. 



All rights reserved. 



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| KIIISHT St. LECIIARD • I 



JTJ* HILE a few introductory sentences are deemed 
(j^2 re quisite for the proper presentation of any pub- 
lication in book form, in this instance there is 
really no call for such. A t the risk of appearing driven 
for the want of something more original to say, it can well 
be stated that this little book speaks for itself A glance 
over its pages will quickly disclose an answer to the 
question whether or not its utterance has been to such 
point as to i7itcrest those designed to be interested; and 
if the answer be in the negative, then all the prefaces 
ever written would not avail. 



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HROUGH Washington west 

means much to the average trav- 
eler, for, if it be that he has not hitherto 
set foot in the beautiful capital city, or that 
he has enjoyed that pleasure in the past, 
the zest is in one case, as in the other, 
keen, and the anticipation enlarged to no 
ordinary extent. Through Washington 
>j east has equal significance, as in cither 
direction the trip is via the National 
JrT/ Capital, all express trains on Picturesque B. & (). 
*- passing directly through the city, and, in fact, 
within the very shadow of the majestic structure in which is 
centered the government of the country. The exact line of 
the Baltimore & Ohio appears to still remain something of a 
conundrum to not a few people, and this, too, despite the 
extensive dissemination of printed matter intended to fully 
advise on this particular point. One would think that the 
frequency with which the words "Picturesque B. & O. Only 
line via Washington," meet the eye, here, there ami every- 
where throughout the land, that every man, woman ami child 
understood it "like a hook." However, a good man}- people 
know a route best by actual passage over it, and thus the 
memorv of the- olden time, or the more immediate remem- 



brance of a trip to Washington by other, and thus necessarily 

roundabout lines, leads to an impression that is difficult 
to erase. This is, that to get to the National Capital one 
must leave the main line and journey southward, whether from 
the Last or the West; or, in any event, if from the West, 
reach Baltimore first, and thence to Washington. This is 
true of all lines other than the B. & O.; and by this the 
position is exactly reversed as regards the trip from the 
West, as the train passes through Washington to reach Balti- 
more and the East. Thus the passenger, if from the West, 
departs via the B. & O. from St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, 
Indianapolis, Toledo, Columbus, Chicago and intermediate 
points, and enjoys the advantages of through cars to Balti- 
more, Philadelphia and New York, which; pass directly through 
Washington, where, as a matter of course, stop ma}- be made 
and the journey resumed at pleasure. Equally attractive 
advantages are enjoyed on the through trains from New York, 
Philadelphia and Baltimore to the western cities named. 
From Pittsburgh the run to Washington is made without the 
change of cars of any class whatever, the direct line of the 
B. & O. from city to city being by no less than seventy-two 
miles the shortest route. From Cleveland and Detroit the 
B. & O. is eighty-nine miles the shortest, and incomparably 
the best in every respect. Certainly any one reading this 
plain and unequivocal statement as to the exact bearing of 
the B. & ( ). line from the Atlantic to the great lakes and 
rivers of the West, without change of cars, can no longer 
question as to the direct line to the National Capital, or 
labor under confusion of comprehension, as the term "Only 
line via Washington," means, to the fullest extent, just as it 
reads. 



In many respects the Capital City is the most attractive 
center of interest in all the country, and the opportunity 
afforded by the trip over the B. & 0. to spend hours, days or 
more, as the sojourn may be extended, without increasing 
travel or losing time en route, is certainly a point well worthy 
of careful consideration. Washington is pre-eminently the 
tourist city of the country, that is to say, it is perfectly 
appointed in all its facilities for the accommodation of such 
travel. The hotels are very commodious, and of such num- 
ber and range of grades as to meet every possible require- 
ment. One can pay almost any price, from the figures for 
entertainment of the "swellest" description, to those for guests 
who care not so much for style, or whose means will not jus- 
tify large expenditure. It is the old "pa}- your money and 
take your choice." One thing may be relied upon, and that 
is the absence of any trouble in securing accommodations, as 
it takes an enormous crowd to fill all the hotels. As a rule, 
though there are always very main' visitors, like the traditional 
"bus," there is always room for one more. Sight seeing about 
town is exceedingly inexpensive, as street cars and cab lines 
reach ewer}' point of interest, and admissions are free every- 
where. The excursion to Mount Vernon is a delightful means 
of putting in a day's time, and costs very little. The ride down 
the Potomac is a charming one, while the inspection of the 
tomb of the Father of his Country is replete with interest. The 
run over to Baltimore from Washington is little more than an 
average street-car ride as to time, but decidedly different as 
regards speed. The B. & O. makes the fastest regular time 
of any road on the continent between the two cities, doing 
the fort} - miles in forty-five minutes with ease. 

14 



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¥1^6 e p°h°ma c . 




HUNDRED years hence the two words. 
"The Potomac!" will have still the magic 
in their utterance which now, at the mere 
sound, as the lips meet and part, dis- 
pels the mist of nearly a quarter of a 
century, and brings the shadowy 
past to what appeal's almost a vivid 
present. Men there are, and many 
of them yet in the full and rich 
development of perfect manhood, who, with no thought of 
gray hairs or bending shoulders, talk of the days when the 
Potomac was verily a river of life, as if 'twere but yesterday 
that their young legs measured the miles of its bayonet- 
bristling shore, and their keen, bright eyes watched every 
hush, every tree, for the flash which would tell of a presence, 
none the more welcome, even if expected. And there are 
men upon whose once bronzed faces age has left its indeli- 
ble marks, and whose steps have lost their elasticity, but 
w hi >se memories have dimmed not ; and their children and chil- 
dren's children know the Potomac as if the realization of what 
it once was came to them by actual experience rather than 
through the tales of veterans. I low then, to the soldier, 
now the citizen in the prime of life, the old man with memory 
brightened by living o'er again the past in the stirring rem- 

»7 











ces which find place in the soul of the young, can the 

ac lose its hallowed seat in the great public heart? 
es go by will not the beautiful river gain new charms 
will ever make it consecrated? Few indeed <»f the 
ocs of old letters dated in "the sixties," which have 
e household treasures in homes from Florida to Da- 
from Maine to Oregon, but contain the words, "The 
ac." As they are handed down from generation to 
tion, and memory -rows sacred as it links names with 
;, who can say that, as one river ever remains most hal- 
lowed in religious history, the other will not in its sphere 
always compel reverence? Not only reverently is recalled 
the by-gone years upon the historic waters, but ofttimes 
among "the boys." as old soldiers love to class themselves 
when speakin- of the tented past, are recollections called up 
of the rollicking days which formed such strong contrast with 
the more serious aspect of the stern business in hand. How 
many staid and dignified merchants and professional men of 
the present would now hold up their hands in holy horror if 
some phonograph could be mysteriously brought out to repro- 
duce some of the sentiments expounded twenty odd years 
ago! For instance, as to the entire absence of any ill effect 
upon the moral nature by the midnight appropriation of the 
inhabitants of a hen roost. The surreptitious making away 
with a fine, fat gobbler, or the quiet absorption of any number 
of nice, fresh eggs, was then considered the highest round of 
the ladder of rectitude. The closer the vicinity of a wholly 
unsuspecting possessor of "shoulder straps," the greater 
would be the -lory of the capture. "All's fair in war" was 
up to with the closest observation of its true 
letter the inner man the outer man had to suf- 




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I 



fer, so much more the /-est of the actual realization; as when 
from the pot the steam of the luckless confiscation emerged 
to sharpen the appetite and rentier the more imperative the 
necessity of a speedy getting on the outside of the delicacy, 
on the principle that dead and masticated fowl tell no tales. 
Ah ! those were days which, despite their hardships, their 
toils and dangers, had their red marks; the very contrasts, 
so strong and glowing, adding a spice and buoyancy to the 
enjoyment of the bright side, which man}- a man of satiated 
ambition to-day would give half his fortune to live over again. 
What wonder that so many journey over the B. & ( ). by the 
side of the memorable river, lost in meditation, realization 
of the present effaced in the absorption of the past! Mile 
after mile the road follows the windings of the white-capped 
ripples, and from the car window one can almost witness the 
scenes of a quarter of a century ago in the pellucid depths of 
the pure ami uncontaminated stream. Indeed, there are few 
more attractive railway journeys in this or any other coun- 
try than that by the banks of the Potomac, aside from the 
associations so near and dear to every American heart. The 
current winds in and about a valley really exquisite in pic- 
turesque beaut)', the hills now sloping off in long stretches of 
cultivated land, and then, by a quick turn, the river shutting 
itself in among such masses of rich and luxuriant foliage as to 
frame the bright, sparkling face so perfectly in contrasts of 
color and in shades as to briim - the artistic soul in closest 




rapport. Hour follows hour in the formation of views which 
appear to vie, one with another, in calling forth the most 
enthusiastic terms of admiration. Even the most unsenti- 
mental of passengers cannot but feel what a perfect absurdity 
it would be to deplore the long and graceful sweep of the 
train as it turns hither and thither to keep by the emerald- 
set shores of the witching' waters. One curve less would 
destroy the wonderful symmetry of this matchless gallery of 
Nature's own handiwork. Were the physical conformation of 
the section such as would permit, the attempt to make the 
B. <S: (). a straight line would be almost sacrilegious. 

From Weverton the three miles to Harper's Ferry is 
through the very seat of mountain fastnesses, precipitous piles 
f granite rising up to a tremendous height and dwarfing the 
train until it appears by comparison but as a puny antagonist 
flying in the grizzly face of rock-ribbed power. The volume 
of water in the Potomac, increased by the flow of the Shenan- 
doah just above, becomes a torrent in impetuosity, and seems 
so eager to find its way to the sea that it froths and writhes 
k\to a whiteness really beyond portraiture in beauty. The ruins 
of houses long since passed into decay, with tall chimneys 
attempting in their scrawny dimensions to rival the towering 
masses of rock beside them, add to the general effect, while 
the climbing ivy vines, the willows, the twisted, weather-beaten 
pines, all help to form pictures which follow in such rapid 
succession as almost to bewilder the eye, and cause one to 
wish that the train might stop, so as to permit of a single view 
out of all these witching scenes. 



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'flapper 3 '^ F^eppy. 




HEN our. awed by the rare com- 
bination of the grandeur in nature 
at Harper's Ferry, declares it the 
glorious culmination of the perfect 
consonance of the Potomac 
scenery, he speaks that which 
none can gainsay. Nevertheless, the justice is not full 
and complete, for here is the Shenandoah hastening to 
a rapid and rapturous union with tin- Potomac, while 
over them historic memories throw the wedding veil, 
as it were, and render the marriage of the waters most 
memorable. It is difficult to commence anything like 
a calm and dispassionate description of Harper's Ferry. 
The glory of the trio of towering heights, which stand 
sturdy sentinels upon the borders of three states, so 
impresses and fascinates as to cause all that is respon- 
sive in one's nature to pay tribute. The enthusiast 
cannot find adequate terms to express the effect tin 
faultless consummation of scenic loveliness has upon 
him, and under the w itchery of Nature's triumph breaks 
forth in rhapsodies which, in after shape, embodied in 
cold lines of plain, black type, may appear overdrawn. 
The fact of it h, human nature is prone to a sell 
dissection, by which the knife is believed to be applied, 



when, in reality, it is not. So many think it weak 
to give way in the slightest degree to the purest and best 
feelings which assert themselves. Determined to be ashamed 
of them, whether or no, they straightway essay to stifle senti- 
ments which are as far above the impulses what is termed 
second thought, .is the sky is above the earthiest of earth. 
Sentiment, other than fashionable gush, is deemed off color-, 
not the proper form, you know. It would be made to appear 
that human nature, when correctly trained, is oi the consis- 
tency of marble. Thus it is the correct thing to exhibit no 
feeling whatever at the last rites of those presumably dear, 
ami to look upon scenes of the saddest character with the 
stoicism of the traditional Roman. To lie human, with a big 
heart overflowing with unrestrained thankfulness to Him who 
has made the world so beautiful to look upon, is to be vul- 
gar; but, thank kind Providence, only to a comparative few. 
Were it not for strong contrasts the half of life would be 
wasted in wondering what the other half was going to be good 
for. So with creation, and the lusty-lunged, brain)-, bright- 
eyed and warm-souled can indeed afford to tower head and 
shoulders above pigmies, even at the risk of being as God 
intended — natural. And the natural man, in the presence 
of royally beneficent nature at Harper's Ferry, fairly revels 
in the atmosphere of a perfect unison of that which is dearest 
to the eye and the heart. Loudon Heights, on Virginia 
shores, which lose their confines in the waters of the Shen- 
andoah, soar upward, the tangled masses of foliage, the 
scarred and crumbling rocks, the gaunt-armed pines and sym- 
metrical evergreens forming pictures unto themselves, upon 
which the artist eye can linger long. Yet, even within the spell 

-•6 




of the picturesque there steal in memories of the sacred 
past which fall like a halo about the leafy crest. Stalwart 
boys in blue and in gray struggled through those thickly 
growing trees and brush, and one and then the other signaled 
from the highest peak to answering forces, like themselves, 
cloudward. Nestling under the kindly protection of the 
billow)- masses of Bolivar Heights, quaint and crumbling 
Harper's Ferry lies. A white steeple here lifts its glittering 
finger, indexing the final ambition of man, while there the 
weather-beaten side of an old-time warehouse dwarfs sur- 
rounding buildings by its larger dimensions, throwing them 
into such deep shade as to cause an involuntary feeling that 
the shadows of the past and of the present are in keeping. 
Ever will Harper's Ferry be visited in the reflective, so to 
speak. One cannot climb the rugged and wind-testing 
streets without wondering at every step if John Brown 
went that way to his death; or, perchance, if Stonewall 
marched his men down from Bolivar Heights by this very 
route as he sped on to Antietam. Thought, too, comes oi 
General Lee, when, as the humble officer of the United 
States army, he here tramped at the head of the few where 
afterward he commanded armies. And Burnside, too, now 
numbered with the dead. Yes, through memory's halls tread 
chieftain after chieftain, brave, gallant and patriotic men ; 
whatever their sentiments, their deeds, and their ends, the 
turf above their graves grows over all alike. The old 
engine house where Brown made his stand still exists, 
used now for the storage of the hearse belonging to the 
town undertaker. Fitting receptacle ! The building is within 
easy range of vision from the car windows as the B. & (). 
trains pull in and out, and the notification of an extra 




time at the Ferry is always followed by a general rush of the 
passengers over for a closer inspection of the whilom fort. 
It is a wonder that any of it is left, as curiosity hunters chip 
off a relic wherever it is possible. Formerly the proprietor 
of the hearse left the doors unlocked, in order to permit of 
an examination of the interior of the building, but when 
visitors commenced chipping off pieces of the hearse body 
and of the spokes in the wheels, he concluded that this was 
going a little too far. The popular beliei appeared to be 
that the hearse had once contained John Brown's body 
before his soul went marching on. Hence the rage to secure 
a memento. From the top of Bolivar Heights the view is 
grand beyond description, and the wide expanse oi country 
laid so temptingly before the eye is historic ground, almost 
every foot of it. To the right is North Mountain, where the 
battle had been fought prior to Antietam, and where McClel- 
lan pressed Lee so strongly that he fell back through Boons- 
boro and Keedysville, seven and a half miles to Antietam, 
fighting all the way. Fully as distinct is South Mountain 
itself, where ex-president Hayes was wounded, and whence 
he was taken down a few miles to a farm house for treatment 
and attention. Meantime, and on the day of the battle of 
South Mountain, Stonewall Jackson fought here on Bolivar 
Heights, and captured a large number of Union soldiers, 
kiom this elevated position Jackson saw the smoke of Antie- 
tam, and hurrying his troops down, following the river to 
Shepherdstown, and thence to Antietam, he arrived there 
and saved Lee from annihilation. 

From the Heights is also seen the stretch of country Gen- 
eral Lee traversed with his army on the march to Gettysburg. 
At this time Maryland Heights,'-just opposite, was occupied 







x ^ 



5S 

which ^S^ 



by h - : \- nion men un command o( General 

French. Lee's :ross 5 oherdstown. and rec ss 

- etreat from Gettysburg at Falling Waters. 

scernible. 
eed. a book could be ins g . - of the 

eve -:enes which ha -pired within the scope 

beautiful country command this sition. And Boli- 

var is but one of the trinity of heights which played so impor- 
it a part in the occupation am it >f Harp^ - 

And Heights st er the Potomac, are in the 
:he name v - ed. Loudon Heigfc - 

are in Virginia and Bolivar Heights st Virginia. All 

trains over the h :: come t st p by the ruins 

the govern -rial, in sight s hil 

the the very center :" the 

- - s, speal g "om a picturesque standpoint, I 

be found in any portion of the country. Hig 

which has eve - retained the name of the illustrious 

sman, Th s Jeffersoi -:ood, and warmly declared the 

view worth a ver the Atlantic to behold. "Stand- 

g" says i a very high p nt . I, on the right 

- - ih, having ranged the I f :he moun- 
ts a hundre - : ~eek a vent ; on the left approach - 

ic. in quest iss ig - In the moment of 

jel igains .tain, rcftd> 

as During the years whic 







s 




have passed since, the rock has been preserved as carefully 
as though its material were precious. 

The through train leaving St. Louis in the morning, Cin- 
cinnati in the evening, passes Harper's Ferry in daylight, as 
also the train leaving Chicago in the morning; while the train 
leaving the latter-named city at five o'clock in the afternoon 
reaches the Ferry early in the evening — and on moonlight 
nights the sight is most impressive. The day train from 
Pittsburgh passes in the earl}- twilight, while those who are 
willing to turn out of their sleeping-car berths betimes in the 
morning will, if on the late evening train from Chicago, or the 
evening train from St. Louis, and morning train from Cincin- 
nati, behold a sunrise at Harper's Ferry never to be forgotten. 

During the summer not a few old soldiers and others, im- 
pelled by the recollections of the past, stop off a train, a day. 
or more and spend the time rambling over the historic ground. 
Up the Valley Division of the K. & O. but a short jaunt carries 
one to the very scene of Sheridan's famous ride, the railroad 
bridging Cedar Creek at about the identical spot where the 
matchless hero, by the magic of his presence, converted rout 
into victory. Then there is Winchester, Kernstown, New 
Market, Strasburg, Port Republic, Front Royal. Cross Keys 
and almost a score of other points made memorable during 
the days that tried men's souls. No line o\ road passes 
through sections so historic, so replete with memories which 
can never die. Time has extracted all the bitterness; fraternal 
kindliness has taken the place o\ vengeful feeling, and arms 
that once were raised against each other now couple in hearty 
communion, and together the blue and the gray wander 
over fields, once everything but the green which now mantles 
soil and memory alike. 

34 



j@\i e y°ufy. 




&J"^j7i\ ROM a point on the main line just west 
^^ of Cumberland and almost within the 
great gap which here, by a strange freak of na- 
:ure, severs the mountain chain, as if gigantic 
power had cleaved with might)- ax, the Pitts- 
burgh Division diverges and penetrates a country 
of wondrous picturesque beauty. And again a 
section falls under the eye of the traveler, which 
is replete with historic memories, not of the days 
of armed strife, within the personal remembrance 
of so many now living, but of a hundred or more 
years before. No less a personage than George Washington 
himself suggested that portion of the line which follows Wills 
Creek down to the Youghiogheny and thence westward, as 
the best avenue for commerce ; and, singular to say, the termi- 
nus, Pittsburgh, is the only city which the Father of his Coun- 
try may be said to have founded. He selected the "Forks of 
the Ohio" as the proper site for a fort in the fall of 1753. 
In April subsequently a series of skirmishes and engagements 
began in which he was personally engaged, and which inau- 
gurated the great seven years' war, that raged in all quar- 
ters of the globe,. Tin- journal Washington kept >>\ his 

37 















t Le Bceuf was i t 

bei: _ ter of war 

took J ; at Fort - t 

- - 

to S " : - 

'jara- 
I - '. _ the g sent 

th a the following 

S Sir - 5 his quarl 

I Fra - tal 

it great t the 

ts details 
t as presenting 

I ihingt 

staff ofl th 1 

tool it S 5 tO 

f his ambit 

rail in s - 

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be: 
s Bra > g - spot, close to t 

ts ment 

> of his earliest 
• 
the tion for the 

- 
- 
1 - ttle g 

Liter of a cen- 



tury before the United States became known of the world, 
was also the center of other conflicts no less momentous in 
their consequences. A few miles up Wills Creek is crossed 
by Mason and Dixon's lane, so familiar in political annals as 
dividing the northern from the southern states. The line was 
run in 1763-67 by the surveyors from which it derived its 
name, and who were sent over from England to end a con- 
troversy of fourscore years' duration. The western end was 
not settled until years afterward, causing, meanwhile, another 
controversy, this time between Virginia and Pennsylvania. 

Well, indeed, might the great railway be termed " Historic 
B. & ().," embracing, as it does, territory made memorable by 
three wars, and so replete with reminiscences as to supply 
the thoughtful with food for long and absorbing study! 

Not many roads, rail or turnpike, equal the Pittsburgh 
Division in the picturesque, and there are not a few of 
genuine artistic cultivation who pronounce its course more 
attractive in scenic grandeur than any other in the coun- 
try. The combination of water, rock and foliage is char- 
acteristic of the entire route, and the effects at times are 
simply indescribable. Following the Casselman to the 
Youghiogheriy, and the Youghiogheny to the Monongahela, 
the road rarely leaves the water line, and as the mountains 
close in and rise high on either hand the panorama is glorious 
in the extreme. The track, based as it is almost literally upon 
solid rock, is smooth and firm, and as the train flies around 
the curves, and dashes in sharp competition to the surging 
waters, the sense of safety is absolute and the enjoyment 
perfect. Before long the Pittsburgh Division will play a 
much more important part in the B. & O. system, as, with 
the line completed from Connellsville to Wheeling, fully 



four hours will be saved in the time to Chicago, and a new 

and remarkably attractive section opened up to the view 
from the rail. Pittsburgh, too, is going to profit greatly by 
the important acquisitions in railroad facilities. The B. & 
O. is already by seventy odd miles the shortest line thence to 
Washington, and with the rapid pushing now characteristic 
of the way of doing things at Pittsburgh, that city will 
speedily become one of the most important centers of the 
company's system. The control of the Pittsburgh & Western 
having passed into the hands of the B. «Sc ()., its lines, to- 
gether with others similarly managed, give a new and ad- 
vantageous route to Cleveland ; and the day is not far dis- 
tant when the through trains of the B. & 0. will not only run 
from New York over its own line to Pittsburgh direct, but to 
Cleveland as well, and not unlikely to Detroit. But a com- 
paratively limited extent of additional construction will give 
the B. & O. an entirely new route from Pittsburgh direct to 
Chicago, striking the present line at Chicago Junction. The 
purchase of the Pittsburgh Southern and the completion of 
the change from narrow to standard gauge, accomplished 
some time since, gives the B. & (). already a line from Pitts- 
burgh via Wheeling to Chicago, while the early completion 
of the cut-off from Columbus to New Vienna, on the old 
M. & C, now the C, W. & H.. means a new and superior 
through line from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Louisville and 
Saint Louis. With a system embracing through trains from 
Pittsburgh east to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and 
New York, west to Columbus, Indianapolis and Chicago, 
southwest to Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, and north- 
west to Cleveland and Detroit, "Old Smoky" will most em- 
phatically become a B. & ( ). center. 




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EAVING Wills Gap, from which, as hitherto stated, 
the Pittsburgh Division diverges in a northwesterly 

direction, the main line continues almost due 
west. The Potomac to the left, the Blue Ridge to 
the right and the Alleghanies in front, no matter 
where the eye may roam it must fall upon a 
picture which cannot but stir the senses and 
compel a response' within one's heart of hearts. 
, The river, broadened out. loses 
^M^^mli* some of its foamy turbulence, but 
the absence of white-crested cas- 
cades and restless whirlpools is atoned for in the calm-sur- 
faced pools and in the sheen of miniature lakes, which mirror 
to entrancing perfection tree, bush, hillside and sky. Soon 
the hills beyond the Potomac grow more sharp in height, and 
rock_\- masses loom up bold and rugged in their conformation. 
To the left also the elevated ground gains new prominence, ami 
the distant hills grow more distinct in their tree-padded forms. 
The river, again feeling tin.- restraint of the more closely skirt- 
ing banks, frets and fumes until cataracts give vent to its angry 
ebullitions. The effect is inspiriting, and as the well named 
Palisades come within view, the beholder involuntarily con- 
fesses that Picturesque B. & (). is no misnomer. The abrupt 
and age-worn rocks expose their deeply scarred faces lull and 



clear, standing out in such bold relief that the pure and crys- 
tal-watered stream catches every rough and jagged feature, 
photographing the picturesque whole with a fidelity which 
must make an artist drop his pencil in dismay at the very 
thought of competition. Over the crest of the rock}- wall falls 
luxuriant foliage, while here and there shrubs, with a hardi- 
hood characteristic of their nature, not only gain a hold, but 
send forth their bright, green arms in the exultation of triumph. 
Hut no persistent vegetation can stay the reach of the rocks to 
the very waters, and they rise from the Potomac so clean and 
clear that to lose footing on the summit would inevitably 
result in a bath. Were it so that the ardent lover of nature 
could take a seat upon the pilot of the locomotive, he would, 
for the next hour, be transported to a very heaven of artistic 
delight. Rather extravagant this may sound, and the first 
impulse may be to set the expression down as to be expected 
in a railroad descriptive book, and therefore to be taken 
accordingly. Hut nevertheless in effect the statement is 
meant as it is put ; for one may have done Europe thoroughly, 
have visited the most noted places, and returned to his native 
land full}- impressed with the belief that there was nothing 
left unseen, and still not have witnessed a view to be com- 
pared with that in question. To behold it is one thing; to 
describe it, another. On the left, the Potomac winds its 
circuitous way in and about the pebbly banks of main land 
and tin}' islands, which are fairly embowered in a luxuriance 
of leafy growth that is doubled in effect by the sparkling 
reflection of the waters. Back of the river are long, sweeping 
hillsides, rising to a height which renders all the more im- 
pressive the mountain outlines farther away. On the left is 
the narrow strip of table land, losing itself in the gentle un- 

46 



duJation of the higher ground, and then the eye, still reaching 
away, descries the clear, graceful form of the Blue Ridge, 
most appropriately named, for nothing in color can exceed 
the exquisite halo which surmounts the chain. Its effect 
upon the senses is peculiarly impressive, and the longer and 
more fixed the gaze the stronger the influence, partaking 
almost of sublimit}-. The blue is absolutely ethereal, and of 
a loveliness of tone not to be found in any other mountain 
section of the continent. Finally, anxious to fathom the full 
and perfect beaut\ r of the view in its entirety, the eye reluc- 
tantly forces itself from the fascination of the Blue Ridge, 
and the vision is direct ahead. An instant, and the conviction 
is realized that to attempt pen or pencil reproduction would 
be a conceit that nature itself would most effectually elimi- 
nate at the first stroke. Low and sinuously billowy hills form 
winsome footstools, as it were, to the chain of the Blue Ridge 
intervening between the grand old Alleghanies themselves. 
The gray haze over the one, the blue over the other, and the 
indescribable blending of the two over the final heights, form 
an atmospheric influence actually absorbing. 

As the way to the mountains is fleetly followed the dual 
ranges gain in majestic proportions, the Blue Ridge gradually 
disclosing its lower series of summits by the strong contrasts 
with the overtopping Alleghanies. The little town of Key- 
ser, the western terminus of the second division, lies level 
upon something of a plateau, which extends to the foot of the 
rock}' gateway, and there, nestled within the shadow of the 
precipitous heights, is the most appropriated}- named busy 
center. Piedmont. Seventeen miles up the sides of the moun- 
tains is Altamont. for a short distance the steel-clad path is 

by the stony banks of the Potomac, now converted into a tem- 

48 



pestuous flood, which boils and seethes with a pent-up fury it 
strives seemingly in vain to vent upon the enormous boulders, 
which year by year yield little by little to the incessant warfare. 
If not, in the one particular of wild grandeur, equal to the 
Rockies, the Alleghanies are more picturesque, presenting, 
as they do, greater contrasts of nature in leafy beauty and 
in shades of color, both of rock and foliage. 

The writer may be termed an enthusiast, and when it 
comes to the Valley of the Potomac, the Blue Ridge and 
the Alleghanies, he is. Year after year, time and again 
has the line of the B. & ( .). been traversed, and the result 
may fairly be said to reach volumes of publication. Yet the 
subject is hardly commenced upon when one, under the full in- 
spiration of the journey, realizes how weak and unsatisfactory 
have been the efforts to draw with pencil where so many have 
failed with the brush. As a matter of course there are many 
men of business, gruff, trade-bound and trade-ridden, who will 
impatiently declare this all the veriest of rubbish, that non- 
sense which is ever deemed the most emphatically condemned 
by a prefix which will not be mentioned here. Possibly it is, 
but perchance the same sort of excuse may be made for it as 
for other forms of nonsense, which is said now and then to 
be relished by the best of men. A keen and whole-souled 
enthusiasm for nature in her loveliest garb — unadorned that 
she may be most adorned — may not pile up many silver, gold 
or even paper dollars, but it feeds another attribute of human 
existence which is manifestly none the worse for it. So the 
merchant, the professional man or the manufacturer, who, in a 
trip over the B. & C, forgets his daily self, loses for the 
otherwise unoccupied hours all thoughts of business, has 
rested the sense of self preservation from one view of life, 

5° 



and in giving the sentimental, if it may be the pleasure so to 
term it, full play, the healthfulness of the Change cannot be 
questioned. 

Running through the Glades at an elevation of nearly three 
thousand feet above the sea, the physical man experiences a 
recuperation as delightful as it may be unexpected. It is the 
exceeding clearness and purity of the highly rarefied atmos- 
phere, and every expansion of the lungs fills them with a 
power invigorating and most healthful. Crowning the Glades 
with a beauty that for once at least does not outrage the sur- 
roundings, is the B. & (). Company's noted summer resort, 
Deer Park. During the warmer months of the year the spa- 
cious buildings are thronged with the elite of Washington, 
Baltimore and Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, as well 
as with prominent representatives of Chicago and St. Louis. 
Deer Park is a lovely spot, and contrary, possibly, to the 
average run of summer resorts, the realization of a sojourn 
there is in every way in keeping with the anticipation natu- 
rally the result of first sight. 

Speeding over the Glades, the train is soon back in the 
heart of the mountains again. The summit of Cranberry Grade 
opens up to the view a matchless panorama, combining lofty 
peaks, wavy lines of cloud-capped crests ami bewitching 
glimpses of valley, which, in any direction, appear almost 
without end. Down the grade, ami a quick turn discloses the 
picturesque village of Rowlesburg, on the banks of Cheat River. 
Then the climb up Cheat River grade, with its varying and 



Constantly more impressive realization of mountain grandeur. 
At Buckhorn Wall it culminates in one of the most glorious of 
views. Mountain top verily, yet peaks rising still higher, and 
peak after peak in the distance, which appear to hide their 
hoary heads in the clouds themselves. Straight down, a thou- 
sand feet or more, is the glistening ribbon marking where the 
waters of the Cheat beat their tumultuous way through gorge 
and canon. Buckhorn Wall, so named from the shape which 
suggests it, is a mighty piece of engineering and masonry, and 
its even face forms strong contrast with the unhewn masses 
on either side. At the eastern extremity a cataract goes 
plunging down, forming a royal bit of the picturesque, while 
striking is the effect of the beautiful little garden on the 
very verge of the precipice. In fact the whole journey 
is replete with most pleasant surprises, and the da) - is gone 
almost before one realizes it is past noon time. At Grafton 
divisions and branches diverge, that to the Southwest extend- 
ing to Parkersburg, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis, while 
that to the West and Northwest crosses the Ohio at Wheeling 
and runs direct to Columbus and Chicago. Of the trains, time 
and other information so necessary to a full understanding, 
the attractive folders and advertising matter generally which 
is issued by the B. & O. tells in full and practical detail. The 
energetic and attentive agents of the company are to be met 
with almost everywhere, and in all the leading cities are offices 
in which politeness and studious courtesy are the governing 
principles. No matter where the traveler desires to go, 
whether over the B. & O. or any other line, inquiry at the 
B. & O. offices will always result in a thorough understanding 
of the situation, and careful guidance as to the proper avenues 
bv which to reach destination. 



54 






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